Workplace transport safety An employers' guide - ARRI Lighting Rental

Safe drivers
Health and Safety
Executive
868 If you cannot avoid manual sheeting or netting, is it possible to do it from the
ground? Open skips should always be covered at ground level, before they are
lifted.
869 Using a net instead of a sheet can also help with flatbed vehicles, because the
net will be lighter and can often be thrown over the load from the ground.
870 If you cannot avoid manual sheeting or do it from ground level, you should
use platforms or gantries with harness systems to help make sheeting safer. As
these measures stay on sites, they may not be available when the sheet or net is
removed at the destination.
871 A platform can help sheeting workers avoid walking on a vehicle or load, but
won’t normally protect against falls from the platform itself.
872 You can find more information on platforms and gantries in Site-based access
to vehicles (paragraphs 498-522).
873 Workers must be competent in the use of protective equipment such as
harness systems. They should have received appropriate practical and theory
training from a competent person before they need to use the equipment.
874 You should also provide training and information to workers using sheeting
systems, sheets and nets.
875 You should provide (and make sure that people use) gloves, safety boots and
eye and head protection.
876 Regularly supervising sheeting, unsheeting and netting is vital to make sure
safe ways of working are being followed.
877 If more than one sheet is needed to cover a load, the rear sheet needs to be
put in place first, to make sure that overlaps don’t face forwards allowing wind
and rain to get between the sheets. Try to make sure that the wind will close any
gaps or folds in the sheet rather than open them up. The same principle should be
applied to folds at the front or on the sides of the vehicle.
878 If you cannot avoid sheeting by hand:
n avoid the need for a person to go on top of the load wherever possible (for
example, with platforms or gantries);
n where platforms are provided, you should make sure there are enough of them,
and their use should be supervised and monitored;
n mudguards and wheels should not be used as steps; and
n you should provide suitable safety arrangements (as set out in this guide).
879 If manual sheeting on the vehicle is the only option, you must provide a
suitable fall-arrest system for everyone to use. These do not prevent someone from
falling but should reduce the risk of serious injury if someone does.
880 If there are no fall precautions in place at the site, the driver should refuse to
sheet the vehicle manually by climbing, and should turn back. Drivers should be
aware that managers will support this decision. This also applies to delivering loads
where there are no precautions available for unsheeting.
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